After moving from Hong Kong to lead the new Singapore office of McDermott Will & Emery as the managing partner and Asia-Pacific head last March, white-collar expert Yuet Ming Tham has returned to Sidley Austin as a partner and global co-chair of the white-collar: government litigation and investigations practice.
In her new Sidley role, Yuet will remain in Singapore and also brought back Shu Min Ho, and seven others, including managing associates and associates. Of those seven, three are new to Sidley’s ranks and the rest are returning to the firm. Ho rejoined Sidley as a partner in the white-collar: government litigation and investigations practice.
Yuet specialises in compliance and investigations, especially in the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, privacy and cybersecurity, as well as regulatory counselling on anti-money laundering laws and sanctions.
“Singapore is attractive as it has always been and continues to be the regional headquarters for many of our multinational clients,” Yuet told Asia Business Law Journal, when asked why she decided to relocate to Singapore. “It is a priority to be close to where many of our client contacts are and to be able to travel to see our clients, which are mostly the US and European multinationals, is important.”
ABLJ reached out to McDermott for comment on Yuet’s departure and the firm’s spokesperson responded: “We are committed to our Singapore office and our clients in the region, and wish Yuet much success in her new role.”
In Singapore, Yuet will focus on corporate governance, investigations, regulatory counselling (sanctions and anti-money laundering), data privacy or cybersecurity and labour laws.
“Now that the global economy seems to be moving out of the boom-to-bust cycle, these areas will definitely pick up and it is all the more important that we focus on helping our clients navigate these legal risks,” said Yuet.
Yuet said her practice has been borderless and spans multiple jurisdictions with team members spread across the Asia-Pacific, who have been working remotely even before the pandemic. Her white-collar practice team now has 14 lawyers based in Singapore, Hong Kong and mainland China.
